BOLZANO, Italy (AP) 鈥� Former Olympic race walking champion Alex Schwazer is being investigated a third time for doping.
The 41-year-old won the German road race walking championships on April 26 in an Italian record time of just over three hours.
But the National Anti Doping Agency of Germany announced on Monday that it temporarily suspended Schwazer and 鈥渋nitiated a results management proceeding鈥� after the blood-boosting drug EPO 鈥渨as detected in both the athlete鈥檚 urine and blood samples.鈥�
鈥淚 am innocent but I am not going to defend myself again, I don鈥檛 have the energy anymore,鈥� Schwazer said at a press conference in Bolzano, Italy.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 take anything but I don鈥檛 have faith in the system anymore.鈥�
EPO was the same substance for which Schwazer tested positive before the 2012 London Olympics. and was banned for 45 months.
Schwazer, who won the 50-kilometer event at the 2008 Beijing Games, returned and qualified for the 2016 Olympics but after a retest of a doping sample showed positive traces of steroids, leading to an eight-year ban as it was his second offense.
Schwazer has always professed his innocence and an Italian court acquitted him in 2021, citing strong evidence that , but his appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss federal court were rejected and the Italian was forced to see out his ban.
The case was even made the subject of a Netflix docuseries.
In the latest investigation, the backup B sample will be tested as well as a third sample of urine that Schwazer鈥檚 former coach Sandro Donati was allowed to keep.
A third test does not normally exist but Schwazer鈥檚 lawyer, Gerhard Brandst盲tter, explained that they were granted the permission to keep one.
鈥淭he fact that we asked for a third urine sample shows that we don鈥檛 have faith in the system, his innocence is in that sample,鈥� Brandst盲tter added.
If Schwazer is found guilty again he will be banned for life.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why they have it in for me and I鈥檓 no longer interested in finding out,鈥� Schwazer said. 鈥淚f I were to investigate, I would end up destroying myself.
鈥淚鈥檓 innocent and I no longer want to waste energy on battles that can wear me out psychologically. They can do what they want, I don鈥檛 care anymore.鈥�
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